REFLECTIONS FROM A DEPLOYMENT TO AFGHANISTAN: THE RELEVANCE OF I-O IN A WAR ZONE

By: Douglas R. Lindsay, Lt. Col.,PhD

Presented by: Matt Brown

Working for the Military

Promotion and compensation are dependent upon a combination of education and application.

In order to obtain senior ranks, one must have earned a master’s degree.

The heart of the military personnel system is the concept of mobility. Every two or four years one will move to a

different location and/or position. Lt. Col. Lindsay was given two-weeks notice that

he would be deployed to Afghanistan for 6 months.

Taking Advantage of Deployment “Opportunity”

Lt. Col. Lindsay decided to expand his applied knowledge and also provide some experience and context that would help him as an instructor.

Specifically, how does the military go about such a monumental undertaking of deploying and redeploying tens of thousands of military personnel in support of the war?

I-O topics covered in this endeavor included: training, selection, performance, leadership, compensation, assessment, motivation, and satisfaction.

Preparing for Deployment

Preparing his family was a significant effort. Thought back to the topic of work-family conflict

and gained a new appreciation for this concept. Coupled with the emotions of deploying, the

notion of going into a combat zone created a significant amount of stress and anxiety.

Military attempts to alleviate some of the stress by compensating the individual in the form of benefits and specials pays.

Needed to attend training to sharpen skills before deploying.

What Motivates Service Members?

Service members who have year-long deployments or have been deployed multiple times. How do they manage such a balance? What is motivating them? Is it internal or external? Why do some choose this

lifestyle but others don’t? What is their compensation?

How do they cope with being in such an environment? Both positively and negatively. Observed many examples organizational citizenship

behaviors and few counterproductive work behaviors. Personnel got the job done while working 15+ hours a day, 7

days a week.

Working for NATO

Worked with all branches of U.S. military branches in addition to other individuals from over 40 different countries.

Different countries are responsible for different functions.

Different leadership styles presented themselves from each culture.

Biggest challenge was how to assess, measure, and sustain performance with the constant influx and outflow of personnel.

Advantages of Experiences for I-O Psychologists

Can help us bridge the science-practice gap. By being able to operate on both sides of the divide, will

gain a better appreciation for the challenges that each side has in trying to read the other side.

Gives us a greater base of experiences from which to draw. Allows one to view work as more sophisticated and

informed. Opens up new avenues of research to those in the I-O

career. Helps give us more credibility with those that we work

with or those that we serve. Using deployment experience to teach students.